University of Alabama students may find the Tuscaloosa Riverwalk transformed into a winter wonderland when they return from Thanksgiving, as Tuscaloosa plans to install an ice-skating rink, snow machines and a winter village.

“What we envision is that Tuscaloosa kids won’t have to travel somewhere else to have a Christmas experience,” Wendy Riggs, Tuscaloosa’s public projects committee’s director of arts and entertainment, said. “I think it’s something that is going to be very big. We’ll have no idea how it’s going to affect us, but I believe it will be a fabulous thing for this town.”

Holidays on the River’s main attraction will be the 60-by-85-foot ice-skating rink currently under construction where the Queen City Pool used to be, near the Mildred Westervelt Warner Transportation Museum on Jack Warner Parkway.

The project is expected to open on Nov. 26 and run until Jan. 6 and accommodate up to 152 skaters at a time. Admission prices for a 90-minute skate session are expected to be set at $10.

Because the nearest ice-skating rink is 60 miles from Tuscaloosa, the City Council expects the facility to draw crowds from all over West Alabama.

“We’re trying to get some more arts into the city,” City Councilman Bob Lundell said. “This is the first time we’ll have an ice rink. [We hope it will] put us on the map as far as a place to go for entertainment.”

The City of Tuscaloosa Public Projects Committee unanimously voted on Nov. 6 to support the project, estimating the cost to be $157,000.

The Committee’s arts and entertainment department reassured the City Council that – between sponsorships and revenue – the worst it could do is break even. The Special Projects Committee was very pleased with the development of Holidays on the River and commended Wendy Riggs and the arts and entertainment department for their work.

“This is exactly the type of creativity that we were hoping we would get with this department,” councilman Lee Garrison said.

IF YOU GO…

What: Holidays on the River

Where: Tuscaloosa Riverwalk and former location of Queen City Pool, near Mildred Westervelt Warner Transportation Museum

When: Nov. 26 to Jan. 6

Cost: $5 for Riverwalk, $10 for ice-skating